Theoretical and empirical description of adult couples' collaborative self-care systems.

Couples' collaborative care systems wherein work of self-care is shared are described from the perspective of Orem's nursing theory. Couples (N = 108) completed two forms of the Self-As-Carer Inventory: their perception of their own and of their partner's self-care agency. Each completed the Couple Form of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales and self-reports of health at this moment and of health in general. The person identified by the couple as having more caregiving responsibilities completed the Caregiver Reciprocity Scale. Stepwise multiple regression yielded a three-variable model (cohesion, dyad gender, and health now), which explained 27% of the variance of collaborative care system score. A collaborative care system model is proposed.